Fodder Innovation Project featured in Farming Matters magazine

The March 2010 issue of the quarterly magazine Farming Matters (formerly known as Leisa Magazine) features an article on the Fodder Innovation Project which is led by ILRI's Market Opportunities theme.

This action-research project is aimed at enabling effective innovation in institutional and policy arenas to address the problem of fodder scarcity, alongside the conventional technology-related approaches to improving the quality and availability of fodder.

The project is being implemented in India and Nigeria in collaboration with the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). It is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Here is the link to the article, Re-assessing the fodder problem.

Vietnam pork sector study featured in New Agriculturist

A collaborative study led by ILRI's Markets Opportunities theme to map the supply chains for pigs and pork products in Vietnam is featured in the January 2010 issue of the online bimonthly newsletter New Agriculturist.

The project, Improving the competitiveness of pig producers in an adjusting Vietnam market, is aimed at generating research evidence to inform policymakers on the appropriate policy, technological and institutional frameworks that will allow Vietnam's smallholder pig producers to competitively increase their incomes through enhanced access to market chains for high-value pork products.

"Smallholders could play a much greater role in pork production but there is a need to generate appropriate technologies to maximize the potential of these systems, to improve the breeds and to provide better and more cost-efficient feed rations," the article quotes Lucy Lapar, a scientist with ILRI's Market Opportunities theme scientist and the coordinator of the project.

The project is due to end in March 2010 but it is hoped that the outputs of the study will be taken up by policymakers and sector stakeholders to inform dialogue towards formulation of pro-poor policies in support of Vietnam's smallholder pig producers.

The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) in collaboration with the Centre for Agricultural Policy - Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development (CAP-IPSARD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Oxfam and the University of Queensland.

Here's the link to the New Agriculturist article, Vietnam: taking a pig to market.

Blog launched: Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health

The Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health (PENAPH) has launched a blog to share news, training materials and other useful resources related to its work.

Started in 2007, PENAPH connects groups and individuals who apply participatory epidemiology methods in the control of emerging and existing diseases. PENAPH works to improve livelihoods by contributing to solve the world's most pressing health challenges.

PENAPH's partner institutions have a wealth of experience in participatory epidemiology and participatory disease surveillance, as well as interests in promoting One Health approaches. These partners are:

• African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
• Royal Veterinary College, University of London (RVC)
• Vétérinaires Sans Frontières - Belgium (VSF-B)
• Veterinarians Without Borders - Canada (VSF-C)
• World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

To find out more about PENAPH, please visit the blog at http://penaph.net.

IFPRI's 'Millions Fed' book launched in Nairobi

The book Millions Fed: Proven Successes in Agricultural Development by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was launched in Nairobi on 27 January 2010 at the ILRI Kenya campus.

Edited by David J Spielman and Rajul Pandya-Lorch, the book features 20 case studies of successful interventions in agricultural development that have substantially reduced poverty and hunger in Africa, Asia and South America, as well as globally.

The key factors underlying the success of these interventions have been documented to provide a collection of credible research evidence to inform future policy and investment decisions.

The project was led by IFPRI, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Amos Omore, Karl Rich and Steve Staal, all scientists from ILRI's Market Opportunities research theme, are among the contributors.

Markets theme scientists visit collaborators in Yunnan, China

The director of the Grassland and Animal Science Institute in Yunnan, China, Dr Huang Bi-Zhi, hosted a team of scientists from ILRI’s Market Opportunities theme during their visit to the institute on 17 January 2010.

Pictured (left to right) are Anette Baumer, Fred Unger, Huang Bi-Zhi, Lucy Lapar and Delia Grace. In the background are some Murray-Brahmin-Yunnan (MBY) cattle, a breed developed at the institute.

Symposium develops policy to transform traditional milk markets in East Africa & Northeast India

Participants at the South-South dairy symposium held at ILRI Nairobi, 1-4 December 2009

PHOTO/Tezira Lore (ILRI)

Between 1 and 4 December 2009, some 25 dairy-sector stakeholders from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Northeast India met at ILRI Nairobi for a South-South symposium to share lessons on traditional dairy development.

The symposium -- Opportunities for transforming the informal sector in emerging dairy markets -- brought together representatives from dairy regulatory authorities, research organizations and development NGOs.

India is currently the world's largest dairy producer and in Kenya, dairy is the largest agricultural sub-sector by contribution to GDP. In both India and East Africa, 70-90% of all milk sold is handled by the informal, traditional dairy sector which is also an important source of employment and nutrition.

During the symposium, case study presentations were made and discussions held under five themes:

• The importance of the informal dairy sector and quality and safety challenges
• Training and certification to improve milk quality and business performance
• Innovation in products and developing dairy markets
• Informal sector governance, different models for dairy boards and enabling policy environments
• Barriers to transformation of the informal sector and investments for value addition

At the close of the meeting, the following key policy recommendations were put forward to guide dairy regulatory authorities and policymakers in the participating countries in their quest to transform and improve their traditional milk markets.

• Best evidence suggests the informal sector will continue to co-exist for the foreseeable future. There is need for enabling policy to help facilitate the ongoing transformation and modernization of the traditional sector and to build stronger synergies with the formal sector.
• There are concerns about public health and consumer safety and a real need to address these. Training and certification has proven a highly successful model for improving milk quality in East Africa, and this innovation shows promise for other southern countries.
• Moving to quality-based payments provides a strong incentive for improving the quality and safety of milk has been successfully trialed in India and should be encouraged in East Africa.
• As a long-term objective, harmonization of standards is required. In the short term, continued benchmarking between East Africa and South Asia can benefit both regions.
• Dairy sector governance is complex with multiple agents and overlapping mandates. There is a need to co-ordinate agencies; a 'one-stop shop' for all dairy stakeholders would be the ideal model.

The symposium was organized by ILRI and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), through the support of various donors including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union.

EDIT UPDATE: To view the presentations and find out more about the symposium's outcomes, please visit the website https://sites.google.com/a/cgxchange.org/southsouthdairysymposium2009/

ILRI research report: Improving smallholder farmers' marketed supply and market access for dairy products in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

ILRI's Market Opportunities Theme has this month (December 2009) released a report of a comprehensive study of dairy supply and demand, and the role of collective action in enhancing market access by smallholder milk producers in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia.

The report was written by Asfaw Negassa, an agricultural economist formerly with ILRI's Market Opportunities theme and currently with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The study identified key supply- and demand-side strategic interventions that may improve the productivity and market orientation of smallholder dairy producers in Ethiopia's Arsi Zone. Strategic collective action interventions are also suggested.

Some of the proposed interventions are: improving availability and utilization of fodder; improving access to animal health services; providing smallholder dairy farmers with access to credit; enhancing horizontal integration of milk marketing co-operatives; and providing a variety of high-quality, safe dairy products to consumers at competitive prices.

Access the report

Citation
Negassa A. 2009. Improving smallholder farmers' marketed supply and market access for dairy products in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. Research Report No. 21. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. 107 pp.